More about the school.....
This week was tough on the community, as two members passed away. One was sudden, a 40 year old suspected of a heart attack while the second was sixty five and battling cancer. This brought up the issue of school closings: death seems to warrant closing for a couple of days in the eyes of the students. Yesterday, a group of students from the sixth grade came to my office to find out why the school was open. I pointed out that the elders would rather have them being in school and expressing their grief, than at home playing videos and watching tv. That seemed to make sense, and the tacit acceptance was felt in the halls. Wednesday afternoon and Thursday will find the school closed as the bodies are being mourned in the school's gymnasium.
This is one of the causes for the academic lag in many of these students, as they are mostly very smart but only lack the 'learning time' or as we in the teacher talk call instructional days. Apparently it is quite common to severely lack the amount prescribed for the academic year, many causes compound over here: frozen pipes, mould, lack of power, lack of water, death observances....Another cause is tardiness. Many students come in only in the afternoon, and miss their morning lessons. For this we've come up with the concept of 'Literacy Club' which finds the pm'rs completing the work they missed in the morning. It's amazing how many of them suddenly have begun to appear at nine am!
We also began an Adult Literacy Program for the adults in the community who want to improve their English and Math skills. Added to this program is the Concentrated Grade 8 course for students 15 and over who want to finish their elementary level and are out of school. These have just begun, and is a pilot project of mine....After assessing them in English and Math, the teacher and I will develop a tailored curriculum for each one to reach the Ontario Grade 8 standard in the remaining months of the school year (end of June).
Our art high school students have done a superb job on one of the walls in the hall, and have added to the 'inviting' atmosphere as displayed.... This is just one section, and represents the hockey teams of the community. Next week there will be tournaments and lots of excitement. I can see that the whole has become far more than the sum of the parts....